Let's Watch This City Burn
by BanishedOne
Summary: The young Uchiha heir was given a promise that if he accepted those unholy orders, his Otouto would be kept safe. When that promise is swiftly broken, he abandons his peaceful ideals and turns to the ways of his ancestor, his precious Sasuke in tow.
1. We are Young

/_Let's watch this city burn  
__From the skylights on top of the world  
__Till there's nothing left of her  
__Let's watch this city burn the world_/

::

This place was like a fox's den, a hide-away for a trickster who weaves so deceptively through a twirling, endless maze of trees. Once that tiny creature threw you off his path, and disguised his trail, he would find a certain comfortable distance before laying low in a place you would certainly never find. That was what this was-

But was the young Uchiha boy some frightened forest animal tucked away from the world? (He asked himself this so many times over.) He let his muscles release tension as his head laid down against his knees and the palms of his hands rested upon a thick, soft carpet of vibrantly green moss. He breathed deeply, eyes burning red beneath pale lids in confused fury- He had run all the way here, his movements silent and his path twisted so as to make following him a matter of complication.

Nobody had followed him. Nobody knew he was here, and this was exactly what he wanted. With a sigh, he lifted his heavy head up and he opened his eyes, staring into space as his mind worked nonstop. He was so confused, no, perhaps it was better to say he was overwhelmed. He was overtaken by all the responsibility that rested on his young shoulders. He was frightened as to what the consequence to any choice he might make could be; And he had so many terrible options burning in his mind, an awful array of decisions laid out before him.

What answer did he have to give anybody, any side? Would he really risk his life to carry his family to their selfish goals, and ignore their obstinate pride? Would he conform to the limitations they put upon themselves in order to break the limitations of this tainted village? How could he accept the imperfect frame they all put around the imperfect pictures they considered ideal?

Just the same, how could he betray his own blood ties, how could he ignore that they were right about one thing- This village was wrong in the way it handled things, in how it controlled every person, stealing the very thing that made each human being individual, their choice.

How the -hell- could the teenage Uchiha accept his own actions if he became another faceless drone for Konoha, helping them rape every man, woman and child of their very souls, of who they were? How could he support the idea of every person in the future being pressed into this same hell he had fallen into- Being sculpted from a human being into a thoughtless tool of warfare?

He wanted nothing else but to cry here, alone in the woods, but his ability to shed tears had been ripped from him long ago.

And captured, caught in this horrid decision was one individual, one little boy who would surely tip the scale one way or another. The only one who understood Uchiha Itachi for who he was, the only one who loved the Uchiha heir for the person beneath his skills and his killing ability.. The only one who saw the teen as something other than a shell, tool, pawn, or anything akin..

..His beloved Sasuke.. What could Itachi do to spare the boy? What -could- he do?

"These lies are leading me astray, it's too much for me to take.. I don't want to live this destiny, it goes on.. Endlessly."

A single, thin hand was lifted and cool skin pressed to the warmth of a pinkish cheek, moving up to caress the boy's forehead as his digits tangled in a mess of raven bangs, seizing the soft locks and holding them as his mind worked itself into exasperation. How could he be expected to stand so strongly through all of this? It made him believe that maybe -he- was what had to be removed from the world to halt everything. Maybe without him, his father's plans would be foiled and the Uchiha clan would eventually have to approach the leaders of Konoha, face-to-face, and a peaceful solution would be found?

He doubted it, but.. His hand dropped to his side, finding the ring at the end of his kunai and he drew it forth, confident in it's usefulness, confident that it could end him so easily. He took in a slow breath, leaving his lips parted slightly as his voice whispered bitterly for only his own ears to hear.

"So watch my chest heave as this last breath leaves me. I am trying to be what you're dying to see. I can't take this anymore. It's this life that's so thankless, how could they just forsake us? Racist, this makes us. It breaks us, they makes us, they hate us, they gave us nothing but no trust.. And just because you showed no love, and hate us, you fucked our trust... Now watch me thrust this knife called lust into my chest until it busts.."

The boy's fingers tightened upon his blade, ready to stain the white spring flowers surrounding him in his hiding space with dapples of red; And how beautiful a grave this place would be, and how amusing it would be if nobody ever found him, if he could just disappear without a trace.. But he couldn't trust the dark place mortals called 'the world' with his precious one. His sweet, innocent, helpless Sasuke.. For now, he had to live, if only for that boy.. The Uchiha heir would face these horrors, and suffer and bleed, if only to save his beloved little brother..

He sighed as his tossed his blade into the overgrowth of brush and vines, his voice defeated as he continued to whisper to himself. "I do this for you... Sasuke"

"When you've got nothing left to lose, with my last single breath I'll still be singing to you, so when you bury me, you better bury me deep and sing along to this song because you'll be broken like me-"

The heir's words ceased suddenly as his head snapped up and those eyes reflecting blood shone with vibrance. He glanced around, sure he had heard a tree creak, the wood strained with a shift of weight as if it was just waiting for one single movement to snap. And there, perched like some predator wishing to prey on the young fawn, was a figure cloaked in solid black, his head turned at a ghastly angle, staring with glowing red eyes behind a twisted mask.

The young Uchiha, no longer safe in his den of bushes, overgrown vines, and wild flowers, thought immediately to take out his kunai, but recalled just as quickly that he had tossed the thing away for his own safety. How ironic now that danger lurked most because he had made himself more vulnerable. Wide, doe eyes looked up through the twists of branches and vines, watching as the creature above watched him below.

Who was this man? ..If even he was a man.

With animalistic movements, like some crawling spider crossing its web, the creature descended, never taking his eyes off the little fawn hiding in the thicket. Itachi spoke not one single word, his astounded mind wishing so terribly to know who it was that had interrupted him and how ever this thing got so close before he knew. Would this thing bare fangs and try to shred the tender young male? Not that the heir would lie down and allow such an event, but he hadn't a clue what he could do aside from face the opposition head-on.

With a crimson glare, Itachi watched the man (yes, it had to be a man) crawl closer until he was at last just within reach. This is when he found himself burning the masked man with sharingan so fiercely, he may as well have been a snarling little beast. "Get away.. Just get away."

A dark chuckle could be heard from behind that accursed mask, and the shadow-like creature tilted his head, those eyes, so much like fire, burning with a vile desire; But they also housed a mysterious knowledge, having seen so many things, so much blood, so wise were they, but tainted, still. He observed his little prey before he spoke up to let the young boy in on exactly -why- he had been spying on him.

"I see the children in the rain like the parade before the pain. I see the love; I see the hate, I see this world that we can make. I see the life, I see the sky. Give it all to see you fly..."

The young male was wary of the intruder's words, but just the same, he was surprised. This man -had- heard what Itachi had been saying before, but how much more did he know of the heir's turmoil? How much did he know, as he indirectly claimed? ..And what was it he wanted?

Eyes filled with the hue of blood, yet still so much innocence flickered about this shadow-clad man as he quietly sat before the teen, not making a single move, looking depraved and disturbed, and Itachi had a feeling that this was not far from the truth- Itachi had a feeling about this man.

"Why can't you let me be? ..Its hard when you stare. How did it come to this? How did I know it was you?"

Another soft but devilish laugh, and the creature spoke in return, "The city looks so pretty.. Do you want to burn it with me?"

Itachi knew it, and that man merely aided in confirming. It gave the heir a shudder as he stared into the undeniable twirl of sharingan staring from behind that mask. This man was Uchiha Madara. The stories whispered amongst the Uchiha children about the most demon-like of all warriors returning from his supposed grave to seek revenge.. They were true. The few Uchiha that believed Madara had indeed been the one to set the fox on Konoha those few years ago.. They were right. But what did he want with the heir?

Did he have some sort of diabolical plan that involved the young Uchiha?

The teen spoke up, his tone neutral, and seemingly unconcerned, but he could not hide the curiosity in his eyes; He could not deny that he would not still be talking to this man if he held no interest at all. "You've gone past your due date. Do you crave a war? Do you crave to tear us apart? I hear the hate in all your words, all the wars to make us hurt. I get so sick, so sick; I never wanted all this. Medication for the kids with no reason to live.."

There was a moment of silence between the two Uchiha, a moment of understanding passing wordlessly between them, and with a gruff voice the ancient one whispered with pity to his little descendent. "Born in this world as it all falls apart.."

He shook his head, his stifled hatred completely apparent, even in his movements, and he elaborated on his words, talking with some sense of sarcasm. "Have you ever met a living legend? I'm undead- I'm the man everybody out there knows and I'm the baddest. I make it rain in hell."

The teen Uchiha gave his company a wary look, as if to question if that man really thought his reputation was undeserved. Itachi himself still fretted over what this ancient evil's plans would be. "You can only blame yourself."

With a growl of frustration that his young relative couldn't see his meaning, he spoke straight, his anger only bubbling up to further visibility. "Yes, I wave this flag of hatred, but _their_ the ones who made it. Watch the beauty of all their lies passing right before your eyes." He paused, coming only closer to the heir, as he had no place to back away, and he clasped the boy by the chin. "The next time you breathe, you'd better think of me, and in your prayers thank God for the mercy of me."

Itachi didn't even wince, or let himself blink as his relative's eyes glared down upon him- He didn't break under such threatening gestures. This strength must have been so enticing or admirable to the masked man, because his stare finally softened, as did his rough grip. Those gloved fingers tenderly brushed back the heir's raven bangs while Itachi only remained stiffened and wary, like the potentially helpless creature he could very well be right now. (Though he did question the strength of this man before him. Perhaps he was not what he claimed.)

Digits encased in smooth, leathery material moved down, caressing the pale, delicate flesh of the heir's neck, until a hand ended upon the boy's shoulder, strands of black hair from Itachi's ponytail twisted between the old man's fingers. This time, despite his lust for blood, the man claiming the name of 'Madara' spoke softly, keeping his tone almost understanding. "The necks of this youth with their necks through this noose were told lies like its truth."

Itachi nodded, having understood his ancestor's words from the very beginning. He had agreed from the very beginning; In everything but making chaos and war. That was the only thing he feared, for his Sasuke's sake. The teen's hand lifted boldly from his lap to touch the mask concealing the man's face. His fingertips moved first, gingerly, along the lines painted on the item, and next he slowly grasped the mask to remove it. He had hesitated enough to let his intentions be known, and he found that this 'evil man' didn't make a move against him.. He was allowed to expose the man's face. (He was so surprised by the masked man's patience and gentleness with him.)

He had let himself be exposed, so the heir allowed his own weakness to show, if only a bit, if only for a moment- He would confide in this 'evil man'. It couldn't possibly do any harm.

"I'm naked, I'm kneeling, I'm shaking, I'm reeling..I'm breaking, I feel it. I'm sick with myself, but I've got no one else. It's the same thing, this pain that keeps me from sleeping."

Yes, it was so apparent that he had shouldered such a terrible burden. Was it also obvious that he had a reason for it all? His Sasuke.. His Sasuke was the reason for him to endure this torment, or else he would simply turn his back on it. He might even side with his family, if only to see himself destroyed. Destruction- That was what he wanted now. He hated himself, but if he could die for his brother, then it would all be worth it. That was why he continued, hoping he could explain further, so not to leave his company in confusion.

"I'll do this for Sasuke.. and I can rest in peace and at least cease to be, and cease to see those things in me that make me want to cease to breathe; I can cease to need and cease to feed this sickness that's in me."

Once upon a time, perhaps Uchiha Itachi had wanted something different- He could recall those early days before he could even speak. He remembered his eyes, like all-seeing windows to the world, taking everything in, and wishing to take everything in forever, to keep. He could look into the sky and be dissolved in the blueish-black which was dotted with little silver lights, and forever walk in a world of those little lights, clutched endlessly by the cool chill of the night air.

Every little question about the world the young Uchiha could ask, he kept to himself, not wanting an answer so much as he wanted to be the one to answer. He wanted to understand and share his knowledge with the world- He wanted to understand life and how it came to be and why it even was.. How blissful a world this was.

But the only thing he was ever allowed to understand about life was how to end it. His wishes and his world were erased and whatever remained of his child-like curiosity, of his innocent wonders, they were hidden behind a faceless mask, a cold, emotionless mask.. Until eventually his inner self ceased to exist completely, and that mask became the truth of who he was.

The only one who ever broke this pattern was Sasuke. Itachi understood from the day his Otouto was born that Sasuke was the person Itachi _used to be._ Sasuke was an innocent, new life who wanted nothing more than to understand his own existence and the purpose behind it... And something else as well. He wanted to be loved for who he was. He proved this by showing an equal standing; a give-and-get sort of love as pure as freshly fallen snow. The young boy always loved Itachi for who he was beneath that mask. (Because.. Though Itachi was sure the mask was all that was left.. Somehow, Sasuke could still find the original Itachi beneath it..Somehow)

And because of that, Itachi knew he would always protect his sibling, whom he loved more than anything else, without any shred of question. (Even if he couldn't protect the boy's innocence.)

Could Madara understand this sort of selflessness? Could he understand that Itachi loved Sasuke more than himself, and _why_ this was so?

With fists tightly balled on his lap, and his head lowered so to cover his face with a mess of raven hair, the young Uchiha continued, his voice still calm, but filled secretly with an underlying anger, an underlying frustration and even hatred. "They take all we are; the innocence of our hearts. We're made to kneel before the alter as they tear us apart... But I'm holding on so tightly now..I wont give up. I love him, he made me.. So I do this for him.."

The teen soon found a hand pressed to his head, a simple gesture of comfort, and it forced him to turn a blank countenance to his company, that mask finally being tainted with but a tiny hint of questioning.

The dark man's demeanor was a mix of things, and for an instant it caused that child locked up within the heir to show himself. He wondered how it was such a man could earn himself a horrid reputation. Perhaps this was all deception, but if this was true, it was so utterly convincing..

Madara seemed bitter, while at the same time he was calm and understanding to the boy before him. His hand gingerly touched the younger male, respecting the power that the boy had while, at the same time, he touched Itachi like a child that needed to be consoled... And through all this he spoke with concern but he didn't pity the younger Uchiha so much that he belittled him. "Now I can see your pain.."

But there was more than pain. There was confusion- Itachi knew what his choices were, but he didn't know which was the selection that should be made. Would things really play out as he imagined or would the tables turn?

..But he had a thought- Perhaps if he played along with whatever option was presented to him by his ancient relative, then further opportunities would open themselves to him? This was the very moment that the heir's mind opened completely to what the man had to tell him.

"I was wrong all along.. What will happen?" Those frail hands loosened and relaxed as Itachi spoke up calmly, honestly asking his relative now what his plans were and what was to be done. What was it Madara had planned?

Itachi brought himself up to his knees in order to get closer to his unmasked relative's height as he sat with the smaller boy. Thin hands came up to rest upon the dark man's shoulder's as the teen looked him right in the face, Itachi's strongest expression of curiosity shining from within him, needing so terribly to know the answers. "What will happen?"

Itachi saw only one single thing first- A hint of subtle distrust completely fading away as Madara thought to question the heir's intentions. The older man must have thought the boy honest enough in his motives, and he decided on a whim to guide the youth before him. "I'm not here to attack or make you panic, I just think it's tragic the way you have it. Please stay strong."

He paused, for some reason bringing his arms to encircle the boy who was so close to him. True, this man had the darkest dreams for the future, but in this younger Uchiha he saw so much of himself from so long ago. And in this moment he found compassion in himself, enough to allow him to try and lead the confused young boy.

His deep, gruff voice whispered in the most honest tone, sharing his knowledge with his entrusted companion. "Everybody sins and it all begins. It goes back around, nobody ever wins. It's harder times like these that never change; it's hard to face that we're all the same. I only crave the dove till the angels save us all. Am I lost in your eyes?"

Itachi softly shook his head, still turning an understanding ear to listen to his advising ancestor, even in a moment of closeness he was certainly not used to. (And he hated to admit it, but after so long, he found now that this 'evil man' they called Madara was the closest thing he had gotten to what he imagined a 'real father' was like.)

Itachi lowered himself down to a sitting position once again, saying nothing as his pinkish lips remained sealed and the calmness returned to doe-like eyes, painting them anew in innocent-looking obsidian. Looking on, he continued to listen.

"If I could take all this pain away, use the rage of our youth today, whose to say that its us to blame? It's the people above you, and the ones who say that they love you. Look what the world has come to. Time is getting shorter with these enforcers orders, and we get blamed and pushed around, who's the villain now? They want blood and they'll kill for it. They'll drain me and they'll kneel for it, burn me at the stake, met the devil made the deal for it. Their guillotine-dreams, their guillotine gleams, the blood of there enemies watching while they sentence me. Sentencing ceased, sentenced deceased and watch them bask in the glory of their holy disease."

Yes- This was all true, Itachi knew this. It was the ways of Konoha, the shameless justification of killing in the name of whatever they saw as right and virtuous, but the goals of all else, of anybody aside from them, these were evil. Killers that didn't kill in the name of Konoha and their damned will of fire, those were murderers. Hypocrites, all of them.

But the Uchiha clan had fallen just as low- They hoisted just as much foolish pride as the leading clans of Konoha, and their ways were just as single-minded. They'd watch their own fall to extinction for the sake of power, rather than trying to find peace and equality or even starting anew elsewhere.. No, that would never do, because without control over multiple clans, then power would be lost. Curse their stupidity.

Itachi had nobody to follow whom he agreed with. Nobody for now but the person before him and himself. And he had no reason to fight for Konoha or his own family. He never wanted to fight or see war anyway. All he wanted was to be with his precious Otouto, but he would never have this.. So he would settle for keeping Sasuke protected.

The heir gave a soft nod to Uchiha Madara, fingertips resting against the older man's knee, pressing just slightly to urge the man onward. He was granted his wish without question.

"..So you look to me to find the truth, and what I say is what you'll do? ..We can't stop now, we're so close now, because these times are almost over. All we've ever really wanted was a place to call our home. This love, this Hate, it's burning us away.. I crave to save us all. Do you want to?"

Itachi had no idea how Madara planned to carry out his plans or what his plans even were, but honestly.. Peace in the world? It probably wasn't even possible and was merely the result of madness burning its way into a senile old man.. A far off dream, this is what it seemed like. But.. If it was a dream, then maybe.. Maybe, it could be a dream Itachi could follow..

And then.. He and his Sasuke could be together at last.

With one last nod, agreeing with his elder's words, Itachi found himself bowed low to the ground, his arms holding up his graceful frame as his chest dipped near to the moss beneath him. He was still wary of this man and he wasn't sure Madara's plans would be something he agreed with at future times, but for now.. Madara was the only person he had to turn to. So he gave over the appearance of loyalty..

For now.

::

TBC

::

(For all reader's curious, the dialogue used in the fic is more than just random poetry, and no, I didn't write it, unfortunately. All the words are mixed, matched and spliced lyrics from various songs, all written by the band 'Hollywood Undead'. This fic is like my one-band musical ItaSasu production. I hope you all enjoy it. =] )


	2. The Diary

::

_With one last nod, agreeing to the elder's words, Itachi bowed low to the ground, his arms holding up a graceful frame as his chest dipped near to the moss beneath him. He looked wary of that man, unsure of that masked man's plans.. But that man was the only person Itachi chose to turn to, so he had given over his loyalty.._

One boy watched his younger cousin from a slight distance, having been curious, at first, as to where Itachi had run off to. But now he saw the truth of utter betrayal. He heard his friend's words speaking up against the Uchiha clan, renouncing them in bitter spite.

And now he watched with disbelief as his best friend and cousin bowed himself to a masked apparition who spoke of what could only be perceived as destruction and genocide.

The entire scene made the teen feel sick to his stomach, but he bared it, keeping his nervous breathing low as he maintained a neutral chakra signal. He dared not let himself be spotted.

The young shinobi made a quick, but silent retreat, hoping to not be noticed. He focused almost everything on that one simple task, but one shard of concentration he simply could not put into the task at hand; This one bit of his mind, distracted from everything else, was humming ceaselessly with questions and concerns. This part of the young shinobi wouldn't let him dare forget the name that masked man had called himself by.

_..Uchiha Madara.. _

Despite the almost undetectable nature of the young teen's flight, however, the masked man indeed looked up from his bowed descendant for a single second to watch another young shinobi with dark, curled locks and determined sharingan eyes, turn tail and flee.

Nobody could tell, but beneath his mask he was smirking silently to himself, pleased.

::

_/I can't think of a reason to get out of bed, _

_curtains closed, lights are off, am I alive or dead?/_

::

Life, these days, was like some fanciful stage act- This was what the heir always found himself thinking. He put on a mask, or perhaps a pretty cover of makeup over his face to hide himself, or to make himself appear different to those who watched him closely. But it was all just an act, in the end. He played his part. He was the character whose actions were controlled by he-who-wrote-the-script-of-life. He was merely a lonely puppet on the end of somebody else's strings, no matter what he did.

And as much as he hoped to bring his family's cycle of insanity to an end, he just saw it continuing; It was never-ending, wasn't it? ..He wanted to deny this. He had decided to do anything he could to put an end to this once and for all.

He had decided.

An end to all the hate, and foolish pride, and pointless lives filled with pointless suffering; He would at last twist the concepts of blind judgement, and turn the world on the ones who sat upon a peak of selfishness. He would damn them all, and he would do it with his own blood, if necessary.

[And he would reshape the world through complete and utter distortion, through torture and death, and suffering, and he would twist and burn every human being to a molten liquid and recast them.. No matter what ends he had to go to, he would change this loathsome world forever.. If only for his one, true beloved. /His Sasuke/ ..Itachi would change the dirty, detestable nature of human beings until they were nothing but a pretty glass menagerie in a doll house-like existence... For Sasuke.]

Every night had been the same- The same as this particular night was. (That was, after he had decided to reveal his family's plan to his Konoha superiors, and was set upon the task of distancing himself from all of his kin, in the likely scenario that he should be given the order to eliminate them.)

(And this distance was easy to obtain, because it had already begun to manifest. The only one person who still troubled Itachi's mind was Sasuke. How long had it been since Itachi had given over his feigned loyalty to Uchiha Madara and Konoha? How long had Itachi been ignoring his most adored and cherished person? Weeks..? Months..?)

The young Uchiha heir was curled in his bed after yet another mission granted to him as an ANBU. This was another sleepless night as Itachi laid alone in his bed, thinking back to all the wars and bloodshed, and how he now carried the task of committing murders in the name of.. what?

..Konoha.. The will of fire.. The land of fire..The way of the shinobi?

What was any of that but names and titles filled with empty lessons for empty figurines that people became when born into this world, destined to become shinobi. It was nothing more than nonsense meant to blank the slate of the human mind and make each individual deny their own significance and worth, in order to become one powerful, conjoined creation. A brainwashed mass of soldiers to fight for things they...probably were ignorant of.

Fighting for beliefs that were merely lies, all lies.

The young heir sighed, and curled himself tighter in his sheets. He had wanted to hold onto the person that he was. He remembered who he used to be. A long time ago, he realized that he was losing himself, and he cried for one single second to mourn the death of he, himself. He wanted to keep his innocence, yet he had squandered it now for the sake of Konoha. (Or so they assumed this was his purpose.)

The delicate beauty of his innocence. The whimsical, intelligent, curious person that was Itachi, individually; These were gone now. The mask Itachi wore was one that would remain now, permanently.

And he would wear this cursed mask for Sasuke.

Which, speaking of the younger Uchiha brother- Itachi could hear the child rousing from slumber in his own room. The shuffling of sheets being kicked aside, and two tiny, naked feet gently patting against the floor; It was a sure signal that Sasuke had woken up, and that he intended to go wandering the dark hallways now.

Itachi was uncertain as to what his (beloved) younger brother sought to accomplish in the unholy morning hours, but just hearing the tiny boy getting up had the heir sneaking with ghost-like movements, making not one single sound, from his own bed to the sliding door that closed his room off from the hallway. And before Sasuke even had a chance to saunter down the hall, Itachi reached up to the latch on his door, locking it.

He, then, returned to his bed. The last thing he needed was to have his greatest weakness coming to his bed to cling to him lovingly while the heir reeked of nothing but blood and betrayal. The last thing he needed was love he did not deserve, and a single second of Sasuke's innocent affection was all it would take to break Itachi's resolute.

Things played out ever as expected; Sasuke indeed came sleepily walking down the hallway, a groggy sort of gate echoing from the sound of his footsteps, and then he halted before his brother's door.

Then the door was pulled on slightly, a tiny hand trying to open what would not open without some tact, and in a surely disappointed state, the defeated child could then be heard returning to his room to sleep alone and face whatever nightmares had been plaguing him.

Itachi sighed, uncertain as to whether he wished to reflect relief or sadness. The only thing Itachi found himself truly certain of was the pain the process of distancing himself was causing him- It could leave anybody else writhing with a heart torn to pieces, but the young Uchiha merely endured.

(Again, for Sasuke's sake. This was all he could do.)

::

It was only perhaps a few hours after Itachi finally decided to lull himself to sleep with his own secret method (Which consisted of looking into a small mirror, and succumbing to a hypnosis cast upon himself with his own sharingan.) that his restless mind began to resist sleep, and he found himself coming back to the darkness of reality.

He slowly opened his eyes, looking out into the emptiness of his room, though this morning, the room was not quite so empty. Dark eyes, once they focused and realized what waited within their vision, snapped wide open in surprise at seeing a guest standing right over the formerly-sleeping heir.

There must have been only an hour left before the sun rose into the sky, but the sky had lightened enough outside of Itachi's window to force the shadows within the room to recede. This made Itachi's unexpected guest plain to see as he stood beside the young Uchiha's bed, one single red eye glowing like fiery insanity.

Itachi shot up in his bed, not frightened, but definitely caught off-guard. He could feel his heart beating much too fast for any person that only just woke up, and he took a deep breath to steady himself as he now stared into a mask marked with flame-like patterns. And once he shifted into the unconcerned state he maintained at all times, the most emotion he showed to his visitor was the slightest hint of annoyance at being snuck up on.

He wondered what it was that Madara felt was so important that disturbing the heir's rest became a necessity in order to communicate.

"I hate that now I see you without giving me a sign."

Clearly, Itachi was annoyed. However, the masked man was sensitive to the boy's wishes, speaking a soft 'I'm sorry', though without much merit in his tone. It must have been for the sake of maintaining a trusting relationship.

"You can't rest in peace? What keeps you from sleeping?" These quiet words were nothing but small talk, the masked man certain that he had disturbed his young pupil in crucial moments of slumber, which Itachi had been lacking lately. True, he pitied the boy somewhat, but unfortunately the man who called himself 'Madara' had no other good time to visit his Itachi, without some uncertainty as to where the young heir would be, and if he would be alone in a secure, predictable environment.

In response, Itachi whispered soft words of self-loathing for his ancestor to hear as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. His disappointment with life, the filthy feeling he constantly had- That was why he couldn't sleep. "I know that my mind is near the end."

Itachi was so much like a broken, soulless little doll; Madara found himself reflecting on that more often than anything. The young boy was a perfect tool, but he was nothing like any other Uchiha. The teen's emotions were so easily erased, whereas most Uchiha tended to be emotionally driven, even if they pretended their emotions were absent. But Itachi.. He was like a person who had longed so desperately to simply be himself, yet he gave over everything he was so easily, and it left him seeming like a pitifully empty shell.

(He indeed would be a perfect weapon, but Madara couldn't be certain that the boy would allow himself to remain empty, or even that he planned to follow anybody else's plans to the end.)

The masked man spoke up gently, his voice soft, so as not to be heard by any other member of the house. "Just hold on now, we're so close now. These times are almost over."

Itachi nodded to his ancestor, not really getting any boost of morale from his words. He felt himself much too tired and grumpy on the inside for that, but, of course, he did not show this, he just moved on. "I won't give up."

Dark eyes finally looked up at the masked man, questioningly, however. Madara had (easily) infiltrated Konoha again to visit his young pupil, yet he seemed to speak nothing of importance. The young Uchiha lifted a hand in a 'what the hell do you want?' sort of gesture. "I don't know why you've come here."

The teen's words led the masked spectre to slowly sigh, the weight of a very unpleasant command resting on top of his tongue. This was the reason Uchiha Madara had come to visit this morning, and while he was detached from this entire situation, for one reason or another, he felt connected enough to his student to seem somber when he had some burdensome command to give. "The necks of this youth, with their necks through this noose.."

He spoke of the foolish and the ignorant. He spoke of countless young shinobi falling prey to the ideals of the close-minded organizations that existed in this ridiculous city. But aside from that, he had one person, in particular, he referred to. "Your friend, he knows, and your friend will stab you in the back and sing the truth. Then everybody will know."

"Shisui?" A jolt of surprise suddenly pulsed through the heir, though it faded away in a flash. He may have been shocked at the realization that his cousin and best friend was aware of what was going on, but at the same time he should have figured as much. Shisui had been avoiding him for a while now, and Itachi just ignored it, because he was trying to distance himself from everybody anyway. Still, the teen's hands gripped the sheets beneath his palms more tightly.

But Itachi also knew that Shisui was among those who would have to be killed. He regarded his friend as probably the most _difficult_, but.. That didn't matter. He sighed, letting his fingers loosen their grip on the material tangled between them. "...What do I do?"

The younger Uchiha spoke evenly, his eyes suddenly cold and focused, and the masked man took this to mean that the boy was resigned to his duties, and with an equally resolute tone, Madara told his student exactly what Itachi probably already knew. "Search and destroy today. We do whatever it takes.."

As the man clad in shadow-black spoke that ungodly command, it seemed as if all light had vanished from the room. Itachi watched his ancestor as the man straightened, the cloak covering his body shifting slightly to cause soft noises which were the only thing to break the silence between the two Uchiha. Then, suddenly, the sun peeked over the horizon, and the first golden rays of the morning beamed into Itachi's window, striking the man that stood before him, casting his silhouette like an enormous shadow upon the opposing wall.

Itachi's eyes fell upon that great shadow, thinking it so akin to some dark beast that had come to feast upon the young Uchiha. The teen observed every detail of that looming blackness, watching it as Madara whispered his last advice to the heir.

"..But from now, you're on your own. You keep the truth inside, and it stays unknown."

Those words echoed like the voice of a ghost all the way into the deepest depths of the young Uchiha's mind, lulling him into an emotionless abyss, a dark emptiness inside his heart that consumed the entirety of his being. He simply nodded to his sensei, accepting what was being asked of him just before he was snapped from his peacefully numb reverie by a tapping upon his door.

Itachi's eyes slowly shifted to stare toward the door, and he watched the enormous black phantom plastered to the wall disappear as a soft, concerned voice quietly bid Itachi to remove himself from isolation.

The heir simply glared, rejecting the pretenses of concern his pushover mother dared to show to him; She tried so hard to pretend she loved her firstborn, yet she obediently consented to letting him be stripped of humanity and made into a faceless tool, then expected him to still play along with the guise of being 'just another happy family'.

Hands were lifted, and fingers came to lace in the Uchiha's free-flowing, ebony hair, tangling themselves there- He felt so angry, yet he felt so sad at the same time. He closed his eyes, thinking of their faces; Every single member of his clan, smiling to him needlessly. One by one, he imagined the crowd of faces vanishing, the past blacking out, the future curving along a different path, until finally Itachi saw only himself and his beloved sibling in his mind.

He saw Sasuke standing there, in his mind, smiling, and then Itachi felt nothing else. No pain, or anger, or sadness; nothing.

Then the teen dropped his hands back the surface of his mattress, and opened his tired, obsidian eyes, looking in the direction of his door.

"..I'm sorry.." This was all he said, and he heard no response from his mother aside from a defeated sigh, and her footsteps which grew steadily faint as she turned and vanished down the hall.

Only when Itachi was certain that Mikoto was no longer within earshot did the heir flop down in his bed, feeling the impact push the air out of his lungs as his head hit his pillow, and his dark hair splayed all about the white surface of it. He closed his eyes, wishing he could go back to sleep, though he knew better, and he took a deep breath, using it to speak softly, listlessly to himself.

"..I watch my mother cry, she says 'baby why?', I say 'baby died, baby's gone like a suicide'. I don't think you'll see him soon, mom, so stay out of my room, mom, and tell dad that I hate him like you, mom."

Again, all Itachi could do in the end was sigh away his frustration.

::

True-Shinobi were supposed to be soldiers of the classic ambush, and even though some Konoha-nin disliked such a dishonorable approach, that was not Itachi's reason against it tonight. (Only hypocrites called themselves shinobi, while shoving away the silent assassination method of murder.)

The Uchiha heir breathed calmly, steadily, feeling the way his ANBU armor clung tightly to him, while it was almost entirely weightless to carry upon himself. He listened to the gentle flow of the Naka river just beyond the clearing where he waited, imagining it's watery surface turned a glassy black since nightfall. The teen paid the closest attention to the calm stillness of the night, the leaves of so many shrubs and trees encircling the clearing shifting no more than they should with the slightest cool breeze.

Itachi looked straight ahead, his eyes a luminous ruby, surely appearing like some predator in the dark of the night. And the night itself was indeed a dark one; Not even the moon was visible in the sky, and the heir only maintained some semblance of vision due to his inherited ability. Thanks to sharingan, he could even see the tall grasses of the small clearing lean from one side, then to the other with the shifting breezes.

But when surrounded in such heavy blackness, even a sharingan user listened very closely to any sound that may be abnormal or uncharacteristic, and the gentle tapping of a shinobi's sandals against the forest's soft, mossy carpet counted as exactly that;

This signaled the arrival of Shisui, who Itachi had bid to meet him at this quiet spot some time earlier in the day. It just so happened that here they were apt to be undisturbed, but it was still nearby to the Naka Shrine, so it gave the appearance that Itachi had no intention of delaying his cousin in getting to the secret meeting of the Uchiha clan which was being held later during the night. That could not be further from the truth, however.

Itachi decided that he certainly would not attempt to murder his cousin and best friend the way other shinobi handled assassinations, though. Even for all his distancing, Itachi was uncomfortable with the thought of his friend having to die by his hands without, at least, some final words passing between them. (Itachi didn't want to spend the rest of his life wondering what Shisui must have thought of him)

It was an assumption, though, that Shisui would indeed meet Itachi here expecting nothing more than a chat concerning the distance that had grown between them; This way, the Uchiha heir would be prepared for a fight and his cousin would be caught off-guard, minimizing the difficulty of the struggle. But, things were not in line to go as Itachi hoped. Either he had underestimated his old friend or Shisui was more onto the younger teen than Itachi had originally thought, because as the older male walked into the clearing, he, too, was clad in his mission-gear.

As the elder teen walked nearer to Itachi, closing enough distance to get within earshot, Itachi practically counted his footsteps, looking over his friend's tense posture and the accusing glare coming from another set of vibrant sharingan. Shisui looked so disappointed and confused, but still completely resolute.

At last, Shisui stopped, fiery eyes locking with Itachi's own blank stare, the friction of determination surging from both Uchiha, and clashing between them, thickening the air and making it more difficult for the pair to breathe. They gazed, for a long, silent period, delving into one another's powerful optics, trying so hard to analyze one another's intent, overlooking the familiarity they both used to know. Each found himself driven deeply into the other's mind and body from just the connection between their eyes, and eventually they were so attuned to each other that both could hear the other's heartbeat ringing faint but rapid in their ears.

But this wordless connection would not solve the matter at hand, and since Itachi was the only one who really knew what that was, he was the first to break the silence. The very first curiosity that troubled his mind was the nature of his friend seeming to know what would occur between them tonight; He wanted answers. "What I said was pretend, but you find the truth under my mask. How did you know?"

Was Itachi really so predictable to Shisui? He wondered that more than anything else.

"How did I know it was you?" Shisui's words came out sounding both agitated but somehow confused, and the heir could hear it, no matter how minuscule. "It was a bad dream, asphyxiated, and you watch me bleed. I know you so well, but now you'll be another notch on the belt, and you can only blame yourself. I thought you were a friend, yet you planned my end."

And there it was, right out in the open; Shisui knew exactly why he had been brought here. Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, glaring with cold ferocity in his friend's direction, and one hand moved to rest more closely to a holster near his waist, fingertips brushing over the edges of the senbon he had armed himself with. Of course Shisui noticed this movement, but Itachi did not yet think to attack, looking for the best opening. (And with Shisui being both skilled with sharingan and speed, that never came easily.)

This was still suitable; Itachi didn't wish to fight just yet. He still had more he wanted to ask.

"So you'll see my body burn in ashes after you sing the truth? You know my plan, and you'll kill for it? You have nothing but no trust, you burn in their lust, but don't see how it blinds us."

Both Uchiha were in a place to take offense in their friend's actions; Itachi thought perhaps he deserved the sudden animosity from Shisui, yet just the same it made him sick to see his old friend shrouded in the blind thirst for power of the Uchiha clan. The older teen was ready to kill his friend all over Itachi simply having his own independent point-of-view.. It seemed outside of Shisui's character to destroy life so thoughtlessly, but Itachi could only assume that these years of loyally serving an obscure title in foolishness had taken an effect.

The elder's point of view was perhaps more simple, yet he stood confused as hell at the person his younger cousin had become. It had all started some time after Itachi joined ANBU- First the heir began to act strangely, his behavior continuously growing more nervous and agitated (and only Shisui could see these things, knowing Itachi so well) until one day Shisui found out something horrifying. He didn't know why Itachi had suddenly turned his back on the clan, or what the younger teen meant in secretly becoming loyal to some masked, malevolent being, but Shisui couldn't stand about idly as his best friend fell to ruin; He only wished he knew Itachi's reasons, or what Itachi meant in his words.

[And did Itachi ever realize that he wasn't the only uneasy person in on the plan for rebellion? Did he ever realize that Shisui had his own doubts, even as he distracted himself from every painful issue in life with working himself numb?]

But that was all okay now. It didn't matter. Shisui had decided he would handle this. He would handle his friend, if only to continue to hide the complete truth from their family's possible overreaction. If only to save Itachi from a worse fate. Shisui had decided.

He took a breath before speaking, his tone irritated, hurt, but he didn't dare show his breaking heart to Itachi, or he knew Itachi would tear him apart in a second. "Left to my friend, I would burn first. Some friend; he planned my end. But if I sing the truth of how you stab us in the back, from the front to the back, they'll attack; They want blood and they'll kill for it. Now you've shown no love and you've hated us; you've fucked our trust. But first I'll thrust this knife called lust into your chest until it busts, and I pray here at the end, I can save you the pain as you die, and I'll say goodbye."

And so it was, both friend's declared their will to kill one another tonight. There was no going back now; History would continue to replay itself again and again, tonight certainly no exception to the rule. Friends killed friends. Relatives spilled each other's blood. The way of the shinobi fueled misunderstanding and relentless hatred time after time after time, without an end in sight. And surely, somewhere nearby, a dark, masked figure chuckled quietly to himself as he watched and waited.

The pair waited in a tense moment of standoff, like two men nervously dueling, knowing the power of their opponent, and knowing mistakes could be fatal. Indeed, both Itachi and Shisui knew one another incredibly well, and while the elder teen was certainly no fool, he fretted consciously, certain that Itachi had done something to prepare for this, something that was beyond his expectations.

[Just like his namesake, Itachi was an undeniable trickster in the art of combat, and unpredictable based upon his appearance.]

However, one thing was as to be expected- Itachi waited to attack, his hand hovering near his weapon for a perfect moment to draw. Shisui had observed this over time, and he was aware that his cousin's gentle nature and will to avoid a fight always led the younger Uchiha to wait to attack until after an opponent provoked a defense.

So Shisui did the only thing he could, he made the first move.

It may have been slightly predictable, but the older Uchiha was sure he had hardly anything that wasn't predictable to his clever cousin.

Without even the slightest flinch of a muscle visible or apparent, the elder Uchiha suddenly disappeared from sight, his uncanny speed comparable to teleportation. This skill, in which had earned Shisui his nickname, [Shunshin no Shisui, or Shisui of the Body Flicker] was an obvious move against Itachi, he knew. It wasn't quite as effective against another sharingan user, but looking back, Shisui had been able to throw Itachi off during training sessions of the past.

He would just have to focus, and fight now as if his life depended on it.. Because it did.

Most who were capable of using the Body Flicker technique were unable to use it for an extended period of time, but the older Uchiha was a mass of speed as well as endurance. Itachi listened carefully to each subtle tap of Shisui's foot against the ground, circling him. Every time the elder Uchiha moved, he landed on one foot just to move again, and his sandal patted the thick grass softly. Each time the older teen moved, the wind whistled softly around his body as he pushed forcefully, speedily through the air, until the shinobi moved so fluidly that the noise formed a complete circle that surrounded the younger male, and Shisui moved continuously within it, bypassing even the lost echo of his tapping foot.

At the point that Shisui moved faster than the sounds he made in doing so, listening was of little aid, and Itachi tried to rely upon his sharingan, though even this became difficult as his cousin's movements blurred together, and merged into the dark of the night. It was indeed a frustrating thing to admit, but as a sharingan user, Shisui knew how to overcome his own kekkegenkai, which made the struggle a more evenly-matched one for Itachi.

But what Shisui hadn't taken into account was that Itachi also knew the rules in fighting against a sharingan-user, and the young teen could practically read into what Shisui's strategy would be based on what would work and what wouldn't. The young heir concentrated, calming his mind to carefully judge when his cousin would finally make a move forward, sure of where Shisui would attack from.

In the end, it was the slightest boost of Shisui's speed to an even greater height that made the immanence of his attack apparent. Wisely, the older Uchiha thought to attack Itachi from behind in order to avoid having his movements locked onto and analyzed, yet Shisui felt astonishment engulf him as he rushed toward Itachi, just to see the younger male twirl gracefully on heel, drawing his senbon, and he hurled them directly toward the older teen.

Seeing a wave of sharpened steel darting right at your face was a rather threatening visual; Shisui could feel his breath captured in paralyzed lungs as his luminous eyes just barely locked onto the thin weapons, hindered by the tinyness of those very objects and the bothersome darkness.

Even worse was the speed Shisui was moving at; It now worked against him as he flew toward the needles faster than they came at him. He was just barely able to adjust his trajectory in time to curve his body away from the path of the poison-dipped needles, watching them whisk by his face, certain he could feel the breeze as they passed him by.

This unexpected prediction of his direction and attack stunned the elder's mind to a dead-halt for a moment or two. He managed to catch the ground with his hand and twirl expertly back into a correct stance, and though he kept it hidden, his bafflement was running amok in his head. He knew better than to allow this for long, however, and he cleared his mind, smiling subtly to himself. Itachi certainly was a dangerous, mysterious wonder of human strength and skill; He never failed to impress.

[And Shisui was certainly aware, now, of why Itachi chose to use the senbon. They were small, and hard to lock onto, even for sharingan, and even more so on a night so dark as this one. Any other shinobi would wisely retreat from such a threat, but Shisui knew better than to assume such was an option.]

The older Uchiha knew that if he was going to survive, he would have to take his own ferocity to the next level. Attacking his own friend and cousin with the intent to kill was a very difficult thing to endure, but in his mind he had to assure himself... Really, it was for Itachi's own good.

Shisui drew a katana from his back, giving it a threatening twirl, before he flowed into precise posture, sharingan eyes vibrantly glowing in anticipation. Likewise, the younger of the two drew his own sword from his back, holding it before himself, his back straight, one foot placed ahead while his weight rested more on the other, the end of his blade held at eye-level, and his fingers grasping the weapon in a calm, relaxed, focused way. Then, with slow, fluid steps, he came toward his cousin, his feet not making a single sound as they moved through the thick grass and moss.

The two Uchihas' focused gazes met, each analyzing the other carefully, hoping to glare down their opponent as they moved in a graceful circle around one another, coming ever closer until their two blades could almost touch, then, like a bolt of lightning surging down from the darkest storm clouds, Shisui flashed away in a burst of speed.

The young heir read into his cousin's intent with accuracy that seemed so instantaneous, and he dashed away at almost the exact same moment as his cousin, his speed surprisingly close to matching Shisui's own. [It must have made Shisui's blood run cold to be beaten at his own game.] Both Uchiha ran alongside one another, keeping cold, crimson glares locked onto each other as they wove through the dense maze of trees and foliage.

No shinobi without sharingan could fight in this way; Both young ninja moved with complete grace, and without flaw, even through trees, and in the dark, and even at the highest speeds, all thanks to their perceptive eyes; Those eyes became their main focus. Each teen kept his own eyes locked upon the flashing, blurred glow of red as they moved like streaks through the night.

Then, at the first gap between the trees, Shisui lunged forward, his body spinning round as it forced speed and power into his blade which sliced toward the younger of the two. In a flicker of movement, the heir leapt to avoid the strike, flinging his body backward in a graceful flip, though his own katana was brought down to make a shallow cut upon the older teen's shoulder before the younger Uchiha landed on his feet, and melded back into his stance.

Shisui barely uttered a sound as he felt the sharpened steel slice through the sleeve of his shirt, and into the muscle of his shoulder. He didn't even spare a moment to glance at the wound, not daring to remove his eyes from his frighteningly cunning opposition. He simply allowed himself a moment to feel the pain as it throbbed through his shoulder, making his entire arm feel a bit weaker, though the cut was hardly anything; To be honest, this was most likely Itachi's gentle way of cautioning his rival of a cousin.

With refined movements, despite his injured arm, Shisui also moved himself into a proper form before he burst into a rapid opposition yet again. He came at his cousin with the intent to kill, his body moving like an elegant blur as his strikes melded together with perfect flow and an aesthetic sort of grace.

The young heir, though his purpose in calling his cousin here tonight had been Shisui's death, only fought in what seemed like defense. [This was a habitual sort of style.] He arched between trees, his own movements like silver and red flashes as his weight shifted evenly and seamlessly between his left and right foot, carrying him here and there without a single misstep or loss of balance. His parries seemed to flow in rhythm with Shisui's slices, as if Itachi could see inside his cousin's mind, reading into every little detail of Shisui's physical expression, taking even the slightest flinch one way or another to intuitively predict every strike.

The pair went on battling with tenacity, hardly halting for a single second between each move, flowing together in their own private moment of warfare like it was some fanciful sort of dance between swinging blades. Their bodies meshed together in abyssal black, tirelessly executing each strike without need for thought, the simplicity of relying upon instinct and the senses, and their knowledge of one another enough to push both Uchiha continuously onward. And if this were indeed a dance that lit upon their skin with radiating heat and adrenaline, it was set to the beautiful music of the night and of oncoming death, a sequel to the struggle; This music was the sound of the heightened rush of breath, sandaled feet moving along in the grass, and steel whisking with a deadly ring through the air before colliding with a sharp clang, which vibrated strongly and faded steadily as it was absorbed in the trees and their leaves.

It was clear to Shisui at this point that even though his cousin had always been a close match in the past, Itachi had been furthering his strength with unrivaled determination, some quest driving the younger male to the brink of utter invincibility; While the elder teen was curious as to what was going through his friend's mind, he was also feeling oddly ashamed that his long-time rival was now showing him up. The younger male had already landed a strike, whereas Shisui couldn't seem to find a single opening in Itachi's defense.

[And Shisui dared not attempt mind-control yet, not with Itachi so hell-bent on his destruction, and not giving the elder a moment to even focus on such a technique.]

The only choices left to the older male felt utterly foolish, yet without making a selection, he was bound to defeat. With this in mind, Shisui at last bumped his speed up to maximum capability; He darted here and there, flipping about in air, landing on tree trunks and branches, attacking from every obscure and unorthodox angle.

At last, the elder male was moving faster than what Itachi could fully perceive with sharingan in the dark. If not for being aware that his cousin would also have a hard time controlling his own movements at such a velocity, the heir might have been a bit intimidated. He relied on the sharpness of each sense, and acute instinct to remain safely out of the reach of Shisui's blade. What his cousin was doing was sloppy, and completely irresponsible on fighting standards, however, because of this, Itachi had a harder time deciphering where Shisui's strikes would come from.

Then, the older male at last got a deciding blow in on his cousin, its ring calling finality out into the forest. With a well-aimed thrust from above, and some unconventional method of a twisting strike, Shisui successfully knocked Itachi's katana from his grip, sending the blade whirling off to be lodged in a tree. The force of the blow caused the younger shinobi to topple off-kilter just slightly, his body falling backward as Shisui's feet met the ground, then with another surge of speed, the elder male rushed forward, his blade raised to the air like a proud banner just before the sharp, merciless steel was slashed downward toward Itachi, who seemed open and vulnerable, and unable to avoid this finishing blow.

But like the deceptive little weasel that he was, Itachi's vibrant red eyes just looked upon the blade coming at him with a touch of something menacing locked within, and at the last moment, too late for Shisui to react, the elder could be completely certain he saw his cousin with the slightest but most vile smirk tugging at the corners of Itachi's lips. This was succeeded by a surprise attack that was, without a doubt, completely planned on Itachi's part. His fingers dipped beneath the rise of his armor over his hands, and he drew two smaller blades from underneath, using one to fling Shisui's sword off to the side while the other was plunged upward into the vulnerable body that had gotten a bit too close.

Shisui did not allow himself yet to falter- He stood, looking down resentfully at his cousin who was upon the ground, one leg curled inward as the other stretched out, with his upper body lifted off the ground just barely, and one arm thrust forward with a blade in hand, which disappeared into Shisui's own body.

And there certainly was no feeling like that of being impaled upon an edged weapon, but Shisui observed it carefully; The angle of entrance into him and the placement of the strike. Then the pain that came along with it- It was a sharp mix of stinging, a throbbing burn that steadily grew in intensity, an unbearable feeling of pressure, a loss of breath, and a sudden cause for nauseousness, though at the same time, the older male was not grounded by this blow, and quickly, he realized something..

[Itachi, in that quick moment that he drew his hidden weapons, must have unconsciously aimed his blade to strike a non-fatal blow, dodging everything vital. He really was TOO gentle.]

This would be Itachi's downfall, Shisui was certain now of that much. While the elder Uchiha may have been in an uncomfortable situation, and while Itachi could easily put more force into the blade, and tear through the male standing over him, Shisui doubted that it would stop him, now, from striking Itachi down as well. If they both died tonight, then perhaps it was better that way.

With every last ounce of strength in his arms, Shisui freed his katana from its entanglement with Itachi's smaller blade, and he lifted it, hesitating for only a second as he looked down on Itachi's impassive visage, then, wiping the precious memories of the past from his mind, Shisui brought the blade down into his friend and cousin's heart.

The elder breathed a sigh of relief, even if seeing the battle end was the only true relief. The outcome itself was a tragedy. Shisui closed his eyes, moving his hand to tug the blade still lodged within him out. He threw it aside, keeping his eyes locked away from the world, wishing more than anything that he knew the answer to why Itachi had done this. Now he never would get the chance to find that out.

Or.. This is what Shisui had assumed; It was when he opened his eyes that he realized how wrong he was. He looked down at the younger teen, who should have been unquestionably dead, but instead he saw Itachi just laying on the ground, looking up at him with a devilish stare. Those eyes burned blood-red as they glared up, silently swearing that Shisui would die tonight.

Shisui knew better than to be tricked, but he couldn't help but step back, his body wracked suddenly by a chill; And as he backed away, the body laying before him separated into hoards of black, feathered creatures, which flapped crazily until they took to the air, and spiraled about the scene menacingly, cawing out their blood-thirsty war-cries, hoping that soon their master would give them a corpse to feed upon.

Knowing that it was a clone, however, instantly led Shisui to wonder where the -real- Itachi was hiding, and he spun on heel, his sharingan scanning the woods perceptively, hoping that they locked onto Itachi before the younger Uchiha sprung some well-laid trap.

It was not his eyes that finally found Itachi, but his ears, instead. As he looked here and there, finding nothing but dark forest, and trees obscuring his vision, he heard the sound of a blade being tugged from a wooden prison. The tree ached in displeasure as the blade was yanked free, but the sharpened steel itself rang in a triumphant pitch for the shortest of seconds- This was still enough to lead Shisui through the forested maze to the place where Itachi's sword had been stuck, and he looked up only to see an empty slash deep in the tree's bark.

And without any warning, the young heir suddenly dropped from his hiding place, landing behind his elder cousin, and he jabbed his katana forward, in hopes of dealing a blow of fatality this time around. It appeared, at first, that he indeed had pierced through the older male yet again, though what was punctured was merely the left-over image of Shisui, which vanished seconds afterwards, his own body having already bolted in a flash of speed, so much like teleportation.

Itachi wasted no time before pursuing his cousin, dashing along again at a comparable speed, exchanging slashes and parries with Shisui as they chased one another through the forest, dodging trees and branches all the while.

But Shisui had slowed down slightly, the wound through his abdomen taking a slight toll on his speed and his strength, those torn muscles, and the bleeding no comfort as he tried to move around quickly. Itachi took advantage of this, instantly seeing that his cousin was weakening, if only a bit, and the young heir took to using his sword with only one hand, while he rested his other hand upon the pack where he carried senbon.

Then, whenever the moment looked perfect, Itachi drew a handful of the small, sharpened objects, and hurled them in Shisui's direction, sure each time that they would strike the elder male, though somehow, Shisui managed to dodge or block them each time.

The pair ran along until finally they stood in the middle of the clearing where they had begun this entire struggle. Without the trees to shield them from one another, they froze, each staring the other down in determination; Shisui used the break in movement to catch his breath, while Itachi took a deep breath, and released it calmly, seeming as if this entire fight hadn't effected him.

[He really HAD been training. He had improved so much over a short period of time, it seemed.. Or was it that Shisui had simply underestimated him?]

No matter what the answer, the older Uchiha wanted this quiet battle to come to an end, and as the two stood still as the night itself, Shisui realized exactly how perfect an opportunity it was for his mind-control technique. If he could just get a good foothold on Itachi's mind, then he could end the struggle with ease from there.

The older teen concentrated, clearing his own mind of everything except the will he wished to imprint upon his cousin. His eyes glimmered with a more intense flare of red as he focused his chakra into the strength of the doujutsu. Without a need to even connect eyes with his younger cousin, he cast the mind control jutsu, the strength within his mind and body flowing into a concentrated point, and reaching out in order to seep into the Uchiha heir.

Shisui pushed his will and thoughts with high pressure and concentration, his eyes focusing the technique as he dipped into his cousin's mind. At the same time, he held his sword firmly in one hand, while he kept his other hand pressed over the puncture in his abdomen- This was an attempt, or at least a hope, to blot out some of the slight discomfort, the most subtle pain fracturing his concentration and making this feat more difficult. (Maybe Itachi knew that?)

The likelihood of Itachi expecting his cousin to attempt the mind control was very high, yet the elder male hadn't really thought the heir would be able to combat it; It had two weaknesses that were usually unknown on top of being difficult to produce, especially at the same time (Which was necessary). In order to block the outreach of chakra which threatened to invade one's mind and imprint thoughts secretly, one had to know it was coming, and with precise chakra control, create a chaotic stream through the mind's chakra networks, altering the perception of the senses, and making it harder for the user of the doujutsu to stream their own chakra through a victim's mind effectively; This took immense concentration.

The secondary, and lesser weakness of the doujutsu was a chaotic thought stream; It was harder to imprint thoughts upon a person whose mind is racing, or overflowing with shock and pain. [Understandably; Somebody who cannot focus on anything cannot focus on imprinted thoughts or notions as much or as easily.]

Being able to manage both of these at the same time was considered impossible; Performing an action that requires focus with a head that is filled with chaos, it seemed a contradiction. Yet, as Shisui continued to heighten his efforts to invade his cousin, he kept finding his net of chakra severed or his forced suggestions overlooked as Itachi's own thoughts flowed up through Shisui's chakra stream, and echoed like haunting whispers in the back of Shisui's head.

The elder of the two paid it no mind, pressing more and more focus into his technique until something curious captured his attention. Suddenly, the wounds that had been inflicted upon him began to fade until it felt as if they weren't there at all. He didn't consider this immediately as anything of consequence, because it aided in him being able to further his focus. But, what he did not consider was that physical pain hindered the effects of genjutsu on the mind as well, and while Itachi maintained a perfect defense against Shisui's mind-control, Shisui had unknowingly allowed Itachi to weave his own technique through the chakra stream into Shisui's mind, cutting the older male off from physical pain; And that was not all.

Suddenly, Itachi's chakra surged into the older male, taking hold of Shisui's mind instead, slowing it down and making his remaining senses murky as they perceived the world cast into illusion. Shisui's glimmering ruby eyes stared into his cousin's face in the distance, the lightless environment not hiding those blood-red eyes or that glowing pale skin, not even the slightest smile on the younger male's face, signaling that he had turned the tables yet again.

Like a hellish nightmare, the darkness itself dripped down like splotches of ink that formed themselves into red-eyed ravens and they perched in massive flocks along the branches of the surrounding trees, their harsh cries growing in intensity as their numbers steadily began to blot everything out, forming a great black wall around the clearing. Then, with the slightest gesture from the younger Uchiha, the entire swarm took to the air, twirling around the pair, swiping at Shisui while Itachi moved freely through.

But this was really not frightening to the older male, even as he dodged and blocked the attacking birds, which served as merely coverups for illusions of weapons. He couldn't even feel the fake pain, which left him confused as to his cousin's intentions. Perhaps this was a mocking form of mercy, or maybe the genjutsu itself was a distraction and hidden among the fake birds were some that were indeed real, and brandished real senbon coated in real poison. That seemed entirely likely, especially since Itachi had trapped Shisui in a genjutsu that he could not escape through pain, alone.

Still, Shisui was a sharingan user, and had a masterful control over his chakra; Breaking genjutsu was an easy task. Breaking Itachi's genjutsu was slightly more difficult, but still simple enough, with the proper amount of focus on the matter.

Itachi certainly was some sick sort of master when it came to genjutsu; He played his illusions well, crippling even the most masterful in the same art. The older teen kept his mind clear, still busily dodging the attacking birds, uncertain which were illusions and which were real, while trying to find the most effective alteration in flow of chakra to break the lock Itachi had on his network. Concentrating on chakra was more challenging while also trying to fight off a constant barrage of attacks, plus, Itachi's genjutsu were especially eloquent, the patterns of their disturbance of a victim's chakra as mystifying to comprehend as they were to break.

And this was all very troublesome while Itachi was simply observing his cousin's struggle; Then the young Uchiha decided he would, at last, take Shisui's vulnerable moment as a proper time to physically attack as well. The young heir gave his katana a twirl, moving elegantly with it, as if the weapon were part of his own body.

With momentary flashes of vision, seconds to glance up, Shisui could see his cousin begin to move beyond the twirl of feathered illusions. This is when the truth of how far Shisui's thought processes had been slowed by Itachi genjutsu became apparent. The older male had thought that these birds just moved with exceeding nimbleness, but it seemed that his mind and his ability to think had been toyed with instead, his speed and reactions grinding to a near halt in comparison; Shisui could tell now as he watched Itachi begin to move. The younger Uchiha was advancing toward Shisui with zigzagged movements as he dodged his own illusions coyly, his feet seeming to slide across the ground as his speed caused his actions to blur together.

If Shisui could no longer perceive Itachi's motions, it was not because Itachi had sped up, it was because Shisui had simply been slowed down.

In an inconceivable flash, suddenly, Itachi set upon his cousin. It was as if Itachi's entire way of moving had changed, his body completely weightless as he attacked, while his strikes were hard and gracefully deadly. Shisui's mind felt numb as he tried his hardest to keep up with the black and white blur, and the surges of silvery steel all around him. He could feel himself tiring, becoming completely desperate, while Itachi just stared, his facial expression mercilessly impassive, his eyes staring in such a way, it was as if they did not move at all, they merely glared with an endless thirst to destroy the older male.

It was completely and utterly shameful; Shisui 'the teleporter', lost to his speed abilities and outdone, trapped by a specialty of his own kin, unable to break free where he should be able to. He even found himself suddenly outmatched in close combat by his younger rival, his own sword being flung from his hand as he focused upon Itachi's blade, how it raised for a final blow, and to strike the defenseless older teen down for good.

Shisui's eyes flickered from the blade to his cousin's face, looking Itachi in the eye, praying that he might see the quiet, gentle Itachi return as if this entire ordeal were nothing but a bad dream. But that moment never came, and in his very last, desperate seconds, Shisui's chakra surged within him, somehow overcoming the genjutsu, and with nothing more than instinct to guide him, the older Uchiha's chakra focused and lunged forward, latching onto Itachi in a moment of weakness forged by Itachi's certainty of finally winning this battle.

The first thought that came to mind in Shisui's head as he took hold was to stop Itachi, and he practically pushed it into his cousin as if it were a command rather than a suggestion, but it successfully set itself in Itachi's mind, and the blade halted just before it cut into the older Uchiha.

Shisui let out a deep sigh, not even sure how he managed to completely subdue Itachi using mind control at such chaotic, sudden timing. He was not one to question a miraculous happening if it fell in his favor, however. This battle would be finished here and now, while he had Itachi perfectly gentled down, and under his control; He would not forgive the friend who had turned against him.

Without a word or movement, Shisui quietly brought Itachi down to his knees and he forced the younger male's arms to spread outward, keeping his hands apart. He looked down at Itachi, the way the younger Uchiha's bangs fell over his face to hide the neutral, yet somehow defeated-looking expression; It almost caused Shisui a pang of guilt, though he assured himself continuously that this was all for Itachi's own sake, and that he had brought it down upon himself.

Then, Shisui made the move which he knew would finish off this battle. He crouched down, crimson eyes watching observantly as he pushed another command through Itachi's head, which was taken and acted upon immediately. One of the heir's hands reached down, his fingertips brushing along the pack which housed his senbon before dipping inside, and drawing a few out between his fingers. They were held for only the slightest of seconds as the next command poured into his mind, and he could not escape it- He clasped the needles tightly before he plunged them into his shoulder, his eyes narrowing at the sudden sting of pain.

That pain was enough to release the mind control, and Shisui knew this, though he assumed it hardly mattered, since Itachi would be devilish enough to use only the most highly effective poisons with his senbon. The younger male was incapacitated now, and wouldn't be able to move around anymore, so Shisui stood and turned around, lifting his own fallen katana from the ground before approaching Itachi as he fell forward, his hands coming down before him to keep himself up, if only a bit.

Shisui waited- He was curious to see what effect the poison was having, wanting to know what fate it was that Itachi had planned for him, instead. He was able to see the ruby glow quickly fade away from Itachi's eyes, the poison obviously having been put together to disable sharingan effectively.

After another moment or two, Shisui took a step forward, ready to see this through. His friend would die by his own hand, all the memories he had of the past like haunting reminders of what used to be and what would never be. It was the brutal beginnings of a time period that would be painted a messy crimson with bloodshed, and Itachi would be the first to fall beneath the wrath of the Uchiha Clan's will, no matter how little Shisui contributed to the 'wrath' itself, and no matter how he fretted for what was to come.

Shisui drew his sword back, ready to thrust it forward, and through his friend, ending Itachi's life with one fatal blow.

But before Shisui could accomplish this act, and before he even was aware of what had happened, Itachi's leg swiped forward, delivering a sweeping kick that knocked the older male from his feet and sent Shisui tumbling back. In an instant, the younger male was back upon his own feet, and his body twirled gracefully to gain speed and power, into a kick that caused Shisui to fly backward with force until the older teen found himself suddenly halted as his back smacked into a tree.

The impact was enough to knock the older shinobi from reality momentarily as the back of his head slapped the wooden surface with a harsh thud, and the breath was forced up from his chest. He coughed, trying to unfreeze his lungs as he forced his eyes to focus, only to see too late that his young cousin had rushed forward to plant an unforgiving knee into his friend's middle.

Shisui lurched forward at the blow, a forced coughing of blood spattering in red designs against the light-colored armor adorning the younger male's frame. From here, Itachi did not move, he simply remained with his knee pressed against Shisui's abdomen, and with one leg beneath him for balance. He did not want Shisui escaping.

What Shisui hadn't known was that Itachi had cleverly captured him in his own form of mind control- It came with prediction, misleading, and trickery on Itachi's part. He knew his friend well enough to predict his decisions with accuracy.

Indeed, the senbon was a wise choice against a sharingan user at night, but all of Itachi's needles were actually -not- poison-coated. He had intentionally drawn his cousin's attention to the senbon throughout the battle, reminding Shisui of them, continually, knowing that when the older male finally brandished his mind-control, he would make use of the senbon and ultimately be caught off-guard when they did not work, and instead, helped Itachi to escape from the technique.

The only needles that -had- been poisoned were the very first few that Itachi had thrown. They had been quickly discarded by the young heir, but not forgotten, and certainly not beyond eventual use. It was quite the opposite, in fact; Itachi had planned to use them, but in good time, and in a way that assured they likely would not be used against him.

Those discarded senbon had waited patiently for their own time of use, which had finally come; The tree that Shisui now found himself pinned against happened, very inconveniently for him, to be the very tree in which the only poisoned senbon were lodged within. And now they were lodged inside him as well, sharpened ends piercing the bark of the tree, and the flesh of the young Uchiha trapped against it.

At first, the initial collision with the hard surface and Itachi's brutal attack were the only discomfort that the older male could feel, his pain sensory coming back after snapping free from his cousin's genjutsu. After a quiet moment of trying to regain his breath, Shisui realized how completely he had lost this fight. He could suddenly feel the sting of the sharpened pins in his back and the throbbing burn of toxins pressed into his skin and pulsing within him. The poison took effect very quickly, the elder Uchiha feeling his sharingan fading away against his will as his body became heavy and difficult to move.

The poisoned shinobi still tried to push his cousin away, his limbs almost too weighted to move without a struggle, his breathing becoming labored. When he failed to shove away the person who used to be his friend, he simply let his arms fall at his sides, though he kept his head up, as burdensome as it was. Defeated, disappointed, and utterly confused, the Uchiha's dark eyes glared at Itachi, wondering why the younger teen didn't simply leave Shisui to die. Surely it meant he had further plans.

But why make the older male suffer? Why not just end this?

"Then go and kill for villains who pillage, their killing by the millions." The older male finally spoke, his voice weak, and breathless, the sound of his words shuddering with his pain. Still, it was bitter, as to be expected from a friend, betrayed. Even his eyes, which were drained of fiery light, still held an intensely cold and hateful glare. "So kill me then, my friend who planned my end."

Shisui's expression was almost too dramatic for the scene- That was what Itachi thought. Even when you struck down an enemy from a village at war with your own, when you struck down a shinobi who hated your homeland, their eyes never looked so ablaze with spite.

But it was because this battle was so much more personal.

However, Itachi simply shrugged, keeping his own emotions locked away for now, but feeling kind-hearted enough to at least resolve his friend's confusion. "I keep the truth inside to remain unknown, but I can tell you the truth, soon you'll be gone."

The heir's voice was soft and smooth, and as withdrawn as ever, but it was still so gentle, without a single syllable that rang with mockery.

The pinned and poisoned teen took a deep breath, gathering whatever strength he had remaining within himself. He would not admit yet that he was grateful to his friend for the offering of answers- Itachi owed him as much. It had nothing to do with kindness and it did not soothe Shisui's wounded heart, not even minimally. "With no thought logically, you're wandering around so aimlessly. Where do I begin? You said it was pretend, and when the bullet went through it took more then just you, it took two. It was you, and it was me, suddenly. How can someone say they're helpless and then they act so selfish? You put me through hell with this so, fuck you, let's just end this. And what about our friendship? And what you did was senseless. You thought you found an exit? Like I said, let's end this!"

And with every sharpened blade of hate and resent he had gained since the start of this, Shisui spoke with clear, brutal honesty. He barely finished his words without gasping, coughs interrupting his words here and there as more blood was forced up while the poisoned Uchiha's body struggled against itself.

But this was the truth- Itachi was the one chosen to lead the Uchiha Clan to a fair, and rightly deserved future. His entire family looked upon him with pride and such firm belief, even if nobody could understand him or his contradictory ways. Nobody could see how helpless the young heir had been on the inside, or how little he really wanted any of this.. Except for Shisui. Shisui understood Itachi's thoughts and feelings, even when they were not expressed or spoken. Shisui had stood beside Itachi when the younger male was confused or nervous, and Shisui swore he would do everything he could to help his friend and to make things easier, and he locked his own uneasy feelings up, and put on his own mask to hide himself.

He disguised himself as a man who would do anything for his clan, at any cost, and he did this with such conviction that nobody would ever question that it was anything less than the truth, even if it was. He destroyed everything that he was to make Itachi feel stronger, so that Itachi could grow comfortable in his place of responsibility, knowing he had a friend by his side.

Shisui had given himself to his friend, but Itachi had betrayed him, and thrown away his efforts. For what? An easy way out?

The older male lowered his head for a second, spitting blood from his mouth with a begrudging feel of indignance to top off his discomfort. He hoped this didn't last much longer, now that Itachi knew the truth.

When the older male raised his eyes back to his old friend, though, he was left thinking Itachi was still just toying with him. It was either that, or Shisui's words really made an impact on the young heir; Itachi seemed as if he were arguing within himself, one side thinking that Shisui's truth was actually lies, and another side beginning to feel regret for never realizing this in the first place.

Gleaming, red eyes hid themselves beneath dark lashes as Itachi shifted his gaze downward. He could sense the grief pouring into him from some unknown tear in his resistance, filling him up inside until he was a teeming container of contrition; It only made the inevitable path of his fate more difficult to face, yet he knew better than to assume he had any other choice, so he endured.

He whispered softly, still unwilling to show any emotion, though his opinion of everything that had come to be was apparent in his voice. "This love, this hate, is burning me away.."

Shisui shook his head with a slight, bitter smile, though he agreed by echoing his cousin's words. They were both the victims their family, their home, and whoever else ever thought to use them. "This love, this hate, is burning me away."

Itachi lifted his gaze to his cousin's visage, only able to admire how perfectly his destructive ability had torn his best friend apart. He had blotted out the strength of Shisui's sharingan, injured him, poisoned him and betrayed him. Itachi didn't want to fault himself for this. He wanted to forget this night had happened, and help Shisui rather than finishing him off, but the heir could only save one, and.. It would not be his friend.

The younger shinobi reached a delicate hand up, and rested it against his friend's cheek, feeling Shisui's skin growing cool. He sighed, leaving his hand were is laid, knowing he had to at least explain things to his friend before Shisui met his end.

"It's hard to face that we're all the same. It's harder times like these that never change; Everybody sins and it all begins, it goes back around, nobody ever wins. And you stab yourself in the back; everybody should just relax.. This all just hits so close to home, we've all got friends but we stand alone, and we're on our own from a broken home, if I keep the truth inside, it'll stay unknown."

Itachi kept his voice steady, the certainty of his words his only source of strength as he spoke them. Then, he moved his thumb to smear away the blood from his friend's chin, not wanting to remember Shisui's face looking so pitiful. The older male couldn't hold himself up anymore now, however, so Itachi carefully let his knee down before he pulled one of Shisui's arms over his back to steady himself before he scooped his friend into his arms.

Shisui's head rested against his cousin's shoulder as he was carried to somewhere unknown; He wasn't paying attention anymore. He didn't have the strength. He simply kept a bitter smile on his face to curse his fate as he cursed the ones who sent his life down this spiral. "How did it come to this? The life support was cut, the knot was too tight. They push and pull me but they know they'll never win."

He wondered if it was surprising to Itachi to suddenly hear him speak of their family in a negative tone, after all those years of helping carry the weight of the Uchiha Clan's pride on his shoulders. OR maybe Itachi just accepted that Shisui felt robbed- He had done what he thought would help his younger cousin, but just the same, he had pushed Itachi along a path he did not wish to follow, so here and now... Shisui abandoned the path he had been pushed along as well.

Itachi simply nodded and whispered to his cousin, agreeing. "Throw it all away."

The heir couldn't believe that all this time, while he fretted at being hollowed and misunderstood, he believed in his own friend's mask without seeing the true pain, the -same- pain just beneath the surface. Now, his only reconciliation was to allow Shisui a confession; to listen and understand.

Shisui had closed his eyes now, his voice a tiny whisper, though the skin between his brows wrinkled slightly as Shisui reflected on his regrets; The way he lived his life. "I keep on screaming but, there's really nothing left to say. I keep on fighting but, I can't keep going on this way. Why can't they let me be? My lips are sewn shut, I watch myself bleed. They push and pull me and it's killing me within."

Another child, just a slave to the will of the Uchiha Clan. Another person erased of who they are, and restructured into a tool. Another young sharingan-user, made to fight for the virtues and values of a family that restricted itself by believing in nothing but itself; And they didn't even bother to realize that every member of the clan might not be another copy, firmly adhering to their silly beliefs.

Itachi sighed, paying close attention to his cousin's last words, while at the same time, he ventured over to the river; When they were younger, he and Shisui used to come to the river all the time. Shisui must have found something comforting about the gentle flow of the water. Once he made it to the water's edge, he sat his cousin down, holding his upper body upright so he could look and listen. It was here that Itachi finally muttered an apology.

"Now I can see your pain, I'm sorry."

The older of the two just shook his head, not accepting the words he was given, because he did not want Itachi to mourn. This was a depressing way to meet his end, but at least it was by Itachi's hands, and not during some senseless battle. Even in the wake of death, Shisui maintained a front to keep his friend strong.

He shrugged as much as he could with his faded mobility, and spoke words he hoped would carry his friend onward in harder times. He spoke with the hope that Itachi could just forget this night. "I look alive but I'm dead inside. But you have a choice, you've got a voice. I think it's just tragic the way we have it."

The older male took a deep breath and released it, feeling himself slipping, though he held on tightly, needing to say everything that was on his mind. In a quiet voice, Shisui confessed his deepest feelings, wanting Itachi to know this at the end. "..Itachi.. I loved you, you made me. I care, when no one else is there. I wish I could take all this pain away. I wish I could save you."

It was hard to hear Shisui speaking of himself as if he were worthless while the elder teen cared more for Itachi than most people. It was hard to think that the life pressed upon him pained him so much that he just accepted death while he confessed to a love Itachi could not adequately return.

And it was so terribly difficult for Itachi to recall his reasons for betraying his friend and cousin at the moment of finality; He would allow the technicalities to slip his mind. He just closed his eyes, slipping back in time to his sweet memories of his precious Otouto, and he used this once more to strengthen himself.

The young heir may not have understood Shisui before tonight, but he felt like he always knew how much his friend cared; Maybe he had underestimated Shisui's feelings, but he found himself smiling, just slightly, sadly, and he tightened his arms around his friend, sure that while Shisui silently felt uncertain, he was still grateful. Itachi was also grateful and glad, even though he hated this reality. At least he and his friend had ended the silence between themselves.

But the younger Uchiha did not want his friend to believe he was dying in vain. Itachi may have had a selfish purpose in destroying his own cousin's life, but if all the older teen wanted was Itachi's protection, then perhaps he could die satisfied. The young heir would have to utter the truth of why he had come to kill his friend, and face being seen as heartless and cruel, but he felt that maybe.. Shisui could live on in the strength he would lend his friend in death.

"I do need you. An eye for an eye, I need you to see. They'll take me an make me weak, but you'll save me; and I'll watch the world die through crimson eyes."

Itachi watched as Shisui slowly raised dark eyes to look up at him- There was a sense of confusion but acceptance as well; both dwelled deep inside, interlacing and battling one another. There was no more fear in those charcoal optics, however, but a second passed in what looked like contemplation as Shisui began to grip the idea of 'mangekyou sharingan'. He began to consume the idea that had been handed to him, the idea that his death would unleash a new power within the friend he longed to protect.

His death would grant Itachi a precious gift which could be used to keep the young heir safe, and guide him to his goals. Shisui nodded gently, understanding, his heart desiring nothing but release from the pain of this world, and to thrust its love within the younger Uchiha, and manifest forever, giving Itachi the strength he needed.

"So take me and make me of use, and then I can be the one to save you. So cry three tears for me. When it's all gone, keep singing this song. So cry three tears for me when it's all gone. I just wanna say good bye.. disappear with no one knowing. I don't wanna live this lie, smiling to the world unknowing."

Dark eyes moved to stare out upon the river as Shisui spoke, reflecting upon memories long past, remembering times of happiness and ignorance, when things were not so complicated. This brought the smallest smile to Shisui's face, and he buried himself deep inside those memories; This very moment may have been painful, but he accepted it, he was okay with it. Really, he couldn't ask for anything greater than what he had now- Itachi needed him. That was all Shisui really needed to feel satisfied, and like he had purpose and meaning.

The older male tried to gather some strength within himself, his body wanting to follow after his line of sight, wanting to dive into the memories that played in his mind. He pulled his legs in to push him from the ground, his muscles not wanting to cooperate, though with Itachi's help, Shisui was able to stand. However, upon his first few steps, he had stumbled, and the younger male scooped him back up without letting him fall, speaking gently to his proud and determined rival. "I don't want you to try, you've done enough to keep me going."

With a careful stride, Itachi allowed his feet to sink into the cool, gently flowing water, listening to it splash around his ankles as it clashed with the sudden obstruction in its path. He put one foot in front of the other, letting the water seep into his clothes and under his armor as he walked further into the depths. The cold sank into his skin, and surrounded him, veiling him in a sudden feeling of numbness which he hoped could consume him.

He tried not to think of this as a goodbye. No. He was releasing a friend from a burdensome life, a life that nobody ever called 'slavery', though that was exactly the truth. Itachi would be the one to undo the chains around his friend and set him free. He would let Shisui go and be free, and Itachi would endure walking his path alone until the day he was set free as well.

Instead of dropping the older male beneath the surface, however, Itachi lifted him further, holding his friend closer so that the other Uchiha's head rested just beneath his chin. He held his friend close, savoring their last moments of togetherness, and feeling the last warmth from the elder male's frame before it was allowed to slip away.

In this moment, Shisui spoke up to comfort his friend, the friend who he trusted to end him here and now, as heartbreaking as it must have been. "I'll be fine, I'll be fine, I'll be fine for the very last time. Please stay strong, I'll see you one last time and then I'm gone. Just let me drown. I won't cry, it'll be fine, I'll take my last breath. I'll push it out of my chest until there's nothing left."

Shisui could hear and feel Itachi's heart racing. He could feel the heir's thin hands trembling as they held onto him. But even so, he knew Itachi would be strong, and he took one last breath before he found himself lowered into the rush of cold water. He looked up, seeing Itachi standing over him, red eyes a glimmering blur, fractured in the way the water moved, constantly. He watched, musing that perhaps the river was nothing more than a river of tears, all cried by the Uchiha through history as it replayed itself so many times over.. So many people hurt.. So many friends killing their friends.. So many family members killing their family members.. So much sadness. Could it ever end?

Could Itachi finally be that end?

The older teen felt his cousin's hands holding him down, and with the small bit of strength he had left, he moved his hands to lay against the frail appendages that were aiding in his destruction.. if only Shisui could give Itachi comfort rather than guilt.

If only there were more he could...

His breath escaped in a flurry of bubbles, which rushed to the surface in hysterics as he closed his eyes.

As Shisui's body grew slack and heavy, Itachi held on more tightly, grasping the older male by his shirt as the river threatened to drag the dying male away to some place dark and unknown. The heir clutched his friend in desperation, not wanting to see him taken away. He spoke softly, though audibly enough so he could hear himself over the river's rushing complaints.

"Now I can see your pain, I'm sorry.. Goodbye.. I cry tonight."

These words were the last Itachi spoke as a feeling of shock rushed over him. His heart pounded painfully, the heaviness of it a shock with each beat. His mind raced, even as it felt empty, and he listened as the night suddenly became so silent. Even the sound of the river disappeared, even the cold, and the wind, and the flutter of leaves, until the night's silence rang in the heir's ears like a piercing cry.

Then all Itachi could hear, as if through telepathy, were the cries of his family members as they renounced the hold Konoha had upon them, unaware that their deaths grew only closer with each word, with each breath Uchiha Itachi took, and with every warm, crimson tear that suddenly appeared upon the boy's cheeks, adorning him with the markings of a new power, a power greater than the rest of the Uchiha.

Yet still, Itachi heard nothing but their voices, crying proudly out into the night.

"_..Let's watch this city burn,_

_From the skylights on top of the world,_

_till' there's nothing left of her_

_Let's watch this city burn the world.."_

::

TBC


End file.
